When he was at table with them, he took the bread. He blessed the bread, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him!(Luke 24:13-35)

Friday, January 4, 2013

Come out from under the fig tree!




 It’s such a simple command, yet it is all we have to do in order to become saints.  “Follow me” Jesus says.  All of Christianity comes down to this: follow Jesus.

It is so simple, yet so confusing at the same time.  Follow Jesus where?  Follow Jesus when?  Am I already following Jesus?  Or am I walking down my own path?  Will He let me know if I’m not following Him?  Who or what do I have to leave to follow Him?  So often we can find ourselves asking God these questions in prayer but He never seems to provide us with the answers.
But that’s what truly tests our faith: whether we are willing to follow Jesus without having these questions answered for us.

In John’s Gospel (John 1:43-51), Phillip doesn’t seek Jesus out and ask Him a bunch of questions.  Instead, Jesus comes to Phillip.  The Gospel says, “Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Phillip.”  I know it sounds crazy but try inserting your own name and location into this story.   For example, “Jesus decided to go to Stockton, and he found Steve.”  Just as Jesus found Phillip, so also will Jesus find you and me, and He will call us to follow Him.  Phillip’s response is to tell Nathanael, who immediately upon hearing Phillip speak of Jesus, questions him.

I think our challenge today is to open ourselves to Jesus; to stop asking the questions and seeking the answer like Nathanael does, and to let Jesus find us where we are—at home, in our workplace, in church, wherever we may be, whatever our state in life is—and to follow Him.  Jesus will come to meet us like He does Phillip and Nathanael, often in ways we do not expect, and will call us to follow Him.  Will our response be to question Jesus when He does call, or will it be to have faith and to just go where He leads?

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